1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to propellants and, more specifically, to a series of advanced liquid compositions for monopropellant application.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Liquid propellants include all of the various fluids used to generate energy. These fluids may be a mixture of an oxidizer and a combustible or a single compound. They include but are not limited to oxidizers, fuels, catalysts, inert additives, and compounds.
To be practical, a liquid monopropellant must be chemically and ballistically stable while concurrently capable of generating hot combustion gases when pressurized, heated or fed through a catalyst.
There is an extensive variety of liquid monopropellants which have been tested over the past two decades. However, it has been impossible to find one which provides the ideal stability, performance and low toxicity.
Hydrazine and aqueous hydrazine solutions are representative of presently available monopropellants. Although they have been utilized for monopropellant applications for the past two decades, concerns about the toxicity and carcinogenic nature of the hydrazine have limited the use of these systems. Additionally, hydrazine systems are decomposed by passing the liquid over an expensive metallic catalyst which must be replaced periodically. It is these kinds of problems which the present invention overcomes.